APA Format: Unpublished Dissertations  

An entry for an unpublished doctoral dissertation available on microfilm and listed in Dissertation Abstracts International (DAI) appears as follows:

Smith, A.B. (1984). Graduate student burnouts: Some possible

      causes.  Dissertation Abstracts International, 32,

      9024B-9025B. (UMI No. 76--41, 272)

This entry style should be used if you read the dissertation on microfilm. In such a case, provide the DAI volume and page numbers and the microfilm number. Make sure to differentiate between the two series of DAI: humanities (series A) or sciences (series B). This split into two series begins with volume 27. As of volume 30, Dissertation Abstracts becomes Dissertation Abstracts International.

 If you used a printed source obtained from a university rather than a microfilm, use the following format:

Lee, J.S. (1991). A study of sleep deprivation and its effects

      on teenagers. (Doctoral dissertation, University of

      Nebraska-Omaha, 1990). Dissertation Abstracts

      International, 50, 4615B.

Include the name of the university, year of the dissertation, and the DAI volume and page numbers.

 An entry for an unpublished doctoral dissertation which is not listed in DAI appears as follows:

Simpson, H.B. (1988). Manic-depressive behavior in early

      childhood. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University

      of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

For more specific information, consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (Fifth Edition).